How Christian Siriano’s Inclusive Approach to Fashion Revolutionized an Industry

We’re at the height of awards season when I drop into designer Christian Siriano's studio in New York’s Garment District. He'd just wrapped the SAG Awards (for which he dressed Uzo Aduba in a Grecian-inspired gown), was in the midst of whipping up a beaded and fringed dress for the Grammys (to be worn by Kelly Clarkson), and had dressed 10 women (yes, in black) for the Golden Globes weeks before. He also outfitted Janelle Monáe for the supremely stylish Black Panther premiere, and is wrangling a handful of other celebrities for various red carpets, all leading up to the biggest one of the year: the Oscars. Throughout, he's also juggling the creation of his own fall 2018 runway show, his tenth during New York Fashion Week.

All in a day's work.

At 32 years old, Siriano has been moving nonstop since becoming the youngest winner of Project Runway in 2007 and launching his namesake label in 2008. From his first runway collections—both on the Lifetime reality show and during Fashion Week—his vision has set him apart from the sea of American designers who consistently rely on the idea that women want sensible, practical, ready-to-wear clothing they look good in. Siriano's name is one that's become synonymous with the glamour of the red carpet. But there's a catch: He's also managed to smash the mold of what a typical “red-carpet moment” looks like. No matter your age or body type, if Siriano likes your work, he’ll want to dress you—a strategy that's proved successful with a broad range of celebrities and their stylists.

“You can be 51 years old and look amazing in his dress or you can be in your twenties and look amazing,” says fashion stylist Kemal Harris, who started working with Siriano for her longtime client Alexis Bledel nearly a decade ago (and since has relied on the designer as a go-to for her up-and-coming clients, including The Deuce's Emily Meade, 29, and 33-year-old Jaimie Alexander, who attended January's Producers Guild Awards in a drop-waist Siriano ball gown from the label's spring 2018 collection.). “He’s somehow found that balance by keeping his aesthetic, so that’s impressive.”

Impressive it is. Not many other designers can say they've dressed Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Kate Hudson, Cardi B, Rihanna, and Lupita Nyong'o, but also willingly created for women who are less predictable, less youthful, and less sample-sized.

One of Siriano’s his first high-profile gigs was dressing EGOT Whoopi Goldberg when she hosted the Tony Awards in 2008. Headlines from the time included “Fierce! Project Runway Designer to Dress Whoopi Goldberg," citing the reality-TV catchphrase Siriano was known for.

“Being a young brand to do that was exciting,” Siriano tells me. “These huge, powerful, very eccentric types of women all wanted to wear the clothes and that was just exciting to see. I never sought out to say ‘Oh, I have to dress all these different types of people.’ Different types of people wanted to wear the clothes, and I was so happy to dress them. I didn't care about anything else."

Ten years in, that feeling hasn't subsided. “Still, that’s how it is now," Siriano says. "Like when I get a request to dress Oprah or someone like Kathy Bates, I’m just excited because I want to work with them.” (The designer did confirm that he’ll be dressing Goldberg again for this year’s Oscars. “We’re doing a dress from my book that was never worn," he teases. "It’s really fun.”)

Siriano’s inclusive approach means he's not tempering his signature style—dramatic, highly technical, attention-getting—which at times have received side-eye from the industry. In 2010 actress Christina Hendricks, at the height of Mad Men mania, wore a fitted strapless peach gown with ruching and cascading ruffles designed by Siriano to the Golden Globes. "You don’t put a big girl in a big dress. That’s rule number one,” an unnamed stylist sniffed to The New York Times the next day.

“I’ve stopped listening to those type of judgments,” Siriano says. “I think by putting it in people’s face [at] the time—dressing [a diverse set of] people on the red carpet [and] on the runway and doing all the things that we were doing—I was like, ‘Well one day, people will come around.’" Which, he says, they did. "It took a little time, but I’m so glad that we did that. Because I could have taken that and never dressed [Hendricks] again after that kind of criticism, but we have one of the best friendships. I’ve dressed her for years now, and I can’t imagine not, and that feels good.”

A good relationship with the women he dresses is important to Siriano, often working with a celebrity multiple times over the course of years—and these women become loyal supporters, muses, and friends. That includes model Coco Rocha, whom he brought to his first CFDA Awards in 2014, after getting rejected from the organization in 2011 despite immediate commercial success after launching in 2008.

When I asked Rocha her thoughts on Siriano's contribution to fashion after a decade, she cites his devotion to women—all women—first. "[Christian] has literally pushed the envelope right off the table in regard to diversity and inclusivity," she says, "In an industry often too narrow-minded and resistant to change, he's shown himself not only open to change, but that he, himself, is the change—and a change we need. His love and celebration of women, all women, regardless of skin color or size is evident in his castings of runway shows, and the women he surrounds himself with.”

Back to Siriano's studio, a few weeks ahead of the Oscars, and even fewer weeks until New York Fashion Week: Team Siriano is gearing up for a runway show that will outwardly address the label’s milestone tenth anniversary with a celebratory “mix of a lot of things,” including reinterpretations of his favorite silhouettes from past collections, as well as “British undertones,” which pay homage to the start of his career studying at the American InterContinental University in London. In attendance will be a crew of Siriano’s high-profile supporters—he isn’t divulging names just yet, other than to say the guests will be good. “There will be obviously a very diverse group of women on the runway that we really want to celebrate,” he says. “Maybe a few of some iconic women that might not be models…." As for the front row? “Really random people—a lot that we’ve dressed over time, from early on to now.”

One aspect of the show he will discuss is the choice of show venue: the Grand Lodge of New York, which is (according to the all-knowing Wikipedia) the “largest and oldest” Freemason’s location in the state. “It [was] a men’s-only club, and we're celebrating all amazing women,” he says. “It'll be interesting to see what the reaction will be. I’m so happy that we’ll have a bunch of amazing, strong, great women who weren’t allowed in this place for so long.”

There’s something poetic about Siriano’s landmark anniversary show giving a big middle finger to the patriarchy, considering he’s been breaking industry barriers from the start—not just by whom he dresses on the red carpet but also in the people he puts on his runway. Starting with his debut fall 2008 New York Fashion Week show, Siriano has been committed to casting a diverse lineup of models. “It’s what everyone should do,” he says, stressing the importance of showing a collection on a range of models that speak to real people who want—or aspire to buy—his designs, like his devoted private clients.

Siriano introduced size-inclusivity into his runway casting for spring 2017, becoming one of the first major designers to do so; for spring 2018, he featured male-bodied, trans, and gender-nonconforming models as well. “It only helps the customer see it and be like, ‘Oh, I can envision myself in that dress and I’m not a famous person and I want to feel good,’” he says. “I think that resonates with them even more: Even if they're not that [exact] same size, they can just see themselves better.”

Still, buying a Christian Siriano gown, which can total into the four figures, isn't something everyone can do, a fact that's not lost on the designer, who brokered deals with Payless and Lane Bryant since launching his line.

“Obviously, lots of people judged me when I signed on to do Payless [in 2008] and thought that was a horrible decision,” Siriano says “I’m so glad that I didn’t listen to those people because, one, we’ve sold hundreds of millions of shoes and it was a great business decision, but also so many people that can’t afford everything in my world get a piece of the brand. I think that’s really special for a young designer.”

His focus on inclusion and diversity has proved to be smart for his bottom line, especially when so many designers are struggling in an unrelentingly competitive industry. Siriano was ahead of the curve as far as understanding that the plus-size market alone offers a $21 billion opportunity, while 69 percent of women between the ages of 53 and 72 say they feel disregarded by the fashion industry. In 2016 Siriano told Bloomberg his expected revenue would ring in $6 to $8 million that year; now the designer estimates that number is much higher.

“I was a young, struggling designer for so long that my biggest thing from day one was ‘Why are we alienating a customer?,’” Siriano says. “I don’t care who you are or where you’re from. If you want to buy a dress, you should be able to buy a dress.”

Siriano has also embraced unconventional e-commerce channels, including Rent the Runway, which allows shoppers to lease his luxury pieces. And whether they’re renting or paying full-price, he aims to provide everyone with the same experience. Sarah Tam, RTR’s head of fashion, credits the designer for having personal “one-on-one” time with customers, including a recent appearance at its Washington, D.C., location.

Tam also says the Christian Siriano show is always “one of our buying team’s favorites to attend," a sentiment fashion editors share thanks to the loose, fun atmosphere that often creates the week's most talked-about moments—like when comedian Leslie Jones gave an enthusiastic, unfiltered play-by-play of his spring 2018 collection last season (which, for the record, Siriano is as obsessed with as everyone else was).

“A lot of designers are afraid of something unique or unexpected happening on the runway because they fear it will detract from the attention on them and their designs,” Rocha, who was at the receiving end of much of Jones’ enthusiasm, says. “Christian doesn’t need the limelight. He’s more interested in creating an amazing and memorable moment. [Jones'] exuberance was the kind of joy too often missing from fashion—a joy he has in spades.”